Since your birthday in October, you have really gone from a toddler to an awesomely fun little boy!
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| Observing some early morning tree trimming |
You had a great Halloween this year! You loved carving your pumpkin and you loved your Packers costume even more. You didn't entirely get the concept of trick-or-treating, but you did like going house to house and ringing the doorbells. :)
You have also really gotten into imaginative play these past few months. You love to put on a pair of my shoes or sunglasses or Daddy's tie, grab your shopping cart or new car, and then head toward the door while telling us, "Going store! Get groceries! Bye!" or some other scenario. You also frequently carry your teddy bear or doll around and they have to "help" you do things, which is usually good for a chuckle.
In November, you decided it was about time to start potty training yourself. One day you just announced you had to pee, so we took your diaper off and sure enough, you went in the potty. During this process, you spent several weeks running around in get-ups like the two below since we had not yet found any underwear that would fit your skinny little tush. :) Plus, the naked booty provided easier access to the potty, which is important when one is just figuring out how the whole process works... Now, you wear a diaper to sleep and that's it!
The weekend after Thanksgiving we went and found our Christmas tree. You LOVED everything about the process - the wagon ride, helping Daddy cut it down, playing with the small branches, the cider and caramel corn, and the decorating. You talked about it the entire month+ that the tree was up! "Ride wagon. See horses. Knock tree over!" You also used your little toy saw that happens to be orange like the one at the tree farm to re-enact the event.
In December, Grandma came and painted your big boy room and Grandpa came and put up the chair rail. I found some Eric Carle decals at Target to go along with your current Brown Bear, Brown Bear and Hungry Caterpillar obsession. Once again, you decided that this major transition (that I had been dreading for months!) was not a big deal. The night after it was finished we asked you if you wanted to sleep in your new room or in your crib, you said in your new room, and you slept right through the night just like normal. You still don't seem to have realized that you can get out of your bed after you wake up and we're not really in a hurry to tell you any differently. :) Every morning and after every nap, you just sit in your bed and sing or talk or yell until one of us comes to get you.
We had our first big snow storm in December and you are a MUCH bigger fan of the snow this year than you were last. I think being able to move around a bit more easily makes a big difference. You were so excited to see the snow outside, get all bundled up, and head out with Daddy. You went sledding, did some shoveling, made snowballs, and played on the snowy playground equipment before coming back inside to enjoy some hot cocoa. You were a pretty big fan of that part of the process, too. :)
You got some new shoes and big boy undies for St. Nick's Day this year. The cuteness of the mini boxer briefs just about killed us both and they serve as a daily reminder of just how grown up you really are!
This is as close as you wanted to get to Santa this year. You were completely entranced by stories and shows about Santa, but you wanted nothing to do with sitting on his bench and having your picture taken with him this year. You were, however, thrilled about leaving him treats and eggnog on Christmas Eve and just about jumped out of bed on Christmas morning to see if he had eaten them.
You loved looking at Christmas lights this year, so we took you to a couple of different displays. You sat in the front the entire time and offered running commentary on all the different lights. "Oh gosh! Train! Wow! Bucky Badger!" :)
You take a bath most nights after supper, but you also love to take showers when you get a chance. If one of us lets you come in with us, you often protest when it's time to get out and insist that you are, "Still showering!! Not done!"
Playing with Daddy in the evenings is one of your favorite things! You love to shoot hoops, build block towers and smash them, play bulls, read books, or snuggle up and watch an episode of "Super Why!" (your favorite tv show).
*You declaring "This fun!" in the midst of anything we happen to be doing.
*How helpful you are with unloading the dishwasher (and really, anything in the kitchen).
*Drinking our tea after nap time.
*You demanding to "See baby!" and then snuggling your head on my tummy, trying to determine where the baby's butt and/or feet are, and giving the baby smoochies.
*Checking in with us frequently by saying, "Miles-y helpful??"
*You have moved out of your highchair/booster and sit in a big chair for meals now, though this does usually include several little "field trips" during the meal. :)
*How quickly you have started to learn letters, sounds, shapes, colors, and numbers! You amaze us daily by demonstrating that you can, in fact, match capital and lowercase letters, count with 1-to-1 correspondence, or tell us that something is a purple oval. It's so fascinating to see how your little brain just soaks all of these things up from everyday life, because we definitely are not doing daily "school time" or anything of the sort!
*Riding in to bed each night on Daddy's back and yelling out "Yuh you! Good sleep!"
*The ever-present refrain of "Miles-y do it!!" for just about everything. (Except cleaning up your toys. We frequently hear, "Mommy/Daddy do it!" for that...)
*Responding to requests with, "Not now. Too busy...(fill in the blank)...", as well as answering questions with "Yupperdoodle!!"
We are so proud of you, buddy, and can't wait to see you become a big brother very soon - I know you will be so, so great at it! We love you!
